Early years The
Jesuits came to Iloilo City in 1953 after being expelled from China by the
Communists, and continued their apostolic work in the local Chinese community. They first did parish-pastoral ministry. With the support of the Iloilo Chinese and Filipino communities, Santa Maria Parish under the tutelage of Our Lady Queen of China was established by Fr. Guerrino Marsecano, an Italian Jesuit missionary. Jesuits believe that quality education is essential in molding good Catholic Christians. So in 1958, with nine students as enrollees, Fr. Andrew Joliet, a French Jesuit, and Fr. Santiago Leon, a Spanish Jesuit, acting as Founder/Director and Principal respectively, opened a parochial school that was named Sta. Maria Catholic School (SMCS). A year after the founding of the school, a two-story wooden building was constructed to provide the students with eight classrooms. In 1962, through the beneficence of Eduardo and Cesar Lopez, additional classrooms were built on the brothers' lot situated across the street. SMCS had its first batch of graduates from the Grade School Department in school year 1965–66. The school accepted its first batch of high school freshmen in school year 1966–67. SMCS held its first high school graduation in March 1970. In 1968, the Philippine government recognized SMCS as a Filipino school with a comprehensive Chinese language program. From nine pupils in 1958, SMCS's student population had continuously grown. It accepted a total of 615 enrollees for high school alone in 1970. However, due to the decision of the Chinese
Provincial superior to maintain only an elementary school, no freshmen were accepted for the school year 1971–72. As a result, high school enrollment plummeted to 513 and to 481 the following year. When parents of the students protested the phasing-out of the high school department, the Chinese Provincial Superior reconsidered his decision. A year after, enrollment started picking up as freshmen were again allowed to enroll for the school year 1972–73. Groundbreaking rites for the construction of a four-story building (Phase 2) worth P200 million for the use of the Grade School Department and the Administration were held on June 1, 2013. Construction of the Grade School and Administration buildings (Phase 2) began in late 2013. It was opened for Preschool and Grades 1–2 in 2016 and became fully operational in the school year after. The school has totally transferred to the new site in Barangay San Rafael, Mandurriao District, Iloilo City, in 2017, with 2,100 students and 200 faculty and staff. The old campus at General Blanco Street is now being used as a center for evangelization and pastoral activities by the Jesuits. School year 2018–2019 marks the school's Golden Anniversary with a theme: 60 years of forming leaders ignited by love and service. ==PAASCU accreditation==